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Thread: [3.5 feat] Familiar Shape
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2009-12-09, 09:06 AM (ISO 8601)
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[3.5 feat] Familiar Shape
Hi,
I'd like to know what you think about this feat.
There are stories and faerietales with sorcerers who have the ability to turn themselves into one specific animal and this feat shall represent this.
Maybe the ability might also work as a substitution ability for the normal summon familiar ability.
Familiar Shape
You can turn yourself into a magical beast that resembles a small animal.
Prerequisites: Ability to summon a familiar, Spellcraft 4 ranks.
Benefit: Select an animal that appears on the list of sorcerer and wizard familiars. At will, you may change your shape to match that of the selected animal, as a standard action. This ability works as the polymorph spell. You gain the bonus to a skill or a save granted by the animal you chose and are treated as having the Alertness feat. When in familiar form, you gain the bonus to your natural armor and the special abilities of a familiar appropriate to your wizard or sorcerer level. However, you can't cast spells while in familiar form.
Special: You can only use Familiar Shape as long as you haven’t summoned a familiar. Familiar Shape can’t be combined with the Natural Spell feat.
edit: I've modified the wording.Last edited by Calmar; 2009-12-10 at 03:17 PM.
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2009-12-09, 09:25 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: [3.5 feat] Familiar Shape
You have some terminology mixup here. Familiars are wizard and sorceror (and hexblade, and probably a few others) companions. Animal Companions (what you mention in the feat description) are druid and ranger companions. You mention both in the feat text, so I'm not sure what you mean.
That being said, there are numerous problems.
Rather than acquiring an animal companion you are able to turn yourself into any one creature of your choice that is presented on page 52 of the Player’s Handbook.
How many rounds does the shape change last, by the way? Until dismissed? Based on a stat modifier (INT number of rounds, CON number of rounds, etc)?
You gain the bonus to a skill or a save granted by the animal you chose and are treated as having the Alertness feat, just as normal. When in animal shape, you gain all the benefits a familiar gains, except the adjustment of the Int score.
I think I know the answers to these questions, but I can't assume. It would be better if the feat stated them.
Also, I'd bump up the prerequisites quite a bit. Being able to turn yourself into a flying raven or a snake that can crawl into places a player can't and being able to do that at first level seems absurdly abusable, even if only once per day and even if only for a few rounds.
All that having been said, I like the idea you're going for with the feat. Maybe just change it to where you can match the form of your existing familiar, assuming all of its stats (except INT) and familiar-acquired abilities. Or maybe you transfer yourself into your familiar and control it for X rounds, and then you can transfer your body and essence back out at any time.Last edited by Zom B; 2009-12-09 at 09:47 AM.
Zombitar courtesy of Djinn_In_Tonic.
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2009-12-09, 09:57 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: [3.5 feat] Familiar Shape
It is supposed to be famliar.
It is at will. It's not that powerful and you can't cast in the shape of the familiar, after all.
Basically it works just as if you had a familiar, but instead of having the creature by your side you can transform yourself into a magical beasts similar to a familiar appropriate to your caster level.
If the chosen animal is a rat, you gain a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves, if it is a cat, you gain a +3 bonus on Move Silently checks in addition to your normal stats. Also, you are treated as having the Alertness feat (Which, admittedly, sounds a bit odd...).
When you change into the shape of your chose creature, you keep your mental stats and skills and gain the animal's physical stats, size and natural armor boni (which I think is the way polymorphing works), as well as the natural armor bonus a familiar gains plus the special abilities like Alertness, improved evasion, speak with animals of its kind, and spell resistance.
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2009-12-09, 10:15 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: [3.5 feat] Familiar Shape
That's what I guessed that you meant, but don't tell me; put it in the feat description.
It is at will. It's not that powerful and you can't cast in the shape of the familiar, after all.
Also, if the familiar form is a raven, the wizard or sorcerer can still cast spells, even without the Natural Spell feat.
Originally Posted by SRD
Moving on.
If the chosen animal is a rat, you gain a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves, if it is a cat, you gain a +3 bonus on Move Silently checks in addition to your normal stats. Also, you are treated as having the Alertness feat (Which, admittedly, sounds a bit odd...).Last edited by Zom B; 2009-12-09 at 10:18 AM.
Zombitar courtesy of Djinn_In_Tonic.
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2009-12-09, 02:49 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: [3.5 feat] Familiar Shape
Make it an ACF. It makes no sense otherwise:
Familiar Shape
You can turn yourself into a magical beast that resembles a small animal.
Level: wizard or sorcerer 1.
Replaces: Summon familiar.
Benefit: Select an animal that appears on the list of sorcerer and wizard familiars. At will, you may change your shape to match that of the selected animal, as a standard action. This ability works as the polymorph spell. You gain the bonus to a skill or a save granted by the animal you chose and are treated as having the Alertness feat. When in animal shape, you gain the bonus to your natural armor and the special abilities of an animal companion appropriate to your wizard or sorcerer level.
Also, does this include creatures on the improved familiar list.
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2009-12-09, 03:17 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: [3.5 feat] Familiar Shape
There's that phrase again.
Also, does this include creatures on the improved familiar list.
Also, hexblade gets a familiar but it's understandable that the alternate class feature doesn't quite fit the flavor of the class.
Again, this seems easily abusable to me, getting the free shapechanging. Even if it's just minor forms it seems too nice. If I had the feature/feat/ability, I'd use it every chance I got to bypass traps and whole areas of a dungeon I didn't feel like going through. Like I said, not to mention spying. And spellcasting as a raven.Last edited by Zom B; 2009-12-09 at 03:22 PM.
Zombitar courtesy of Djinn_In_Tonic.
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2009-12-10, 09:28 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: [3.5 feat] Familiar Shape
Depends on the style of the game, I suppose. As far as my experience goes, no one ever uses the common familiar for anything other than to benefit from the bonuses it grants. No scouting, no delivery of touch attacks. Also, you still have your group left behind on the other side of the area full of monsters or trap, no matter whether you bypass it in the shape of a rat, or with one of the more advanced conjuration illusion or transmutation spells on the later levels; a low level wizard deep in a monster lair, far away from her group puts herself in serious risk.
Though my original intention was, that neither animal can cast in any case, a raven might be able to cast spells with only verbal components and maybe material components with Eshew Materials, but certainly no somatic components, since he lacks the hands to do so - at least not in my game.
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2009-12-10, 10:19 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: [3.5 feat] Familiar Shape
This might have something to do with that:
Originally Posted by SRDcertainly no somatic components, since he lacks the hands to do so
As you say, though, this revolves around the style of campaign. If you want to use this in home games and its understood not to abuse it, then go for it. I just thought I'd warn you of the potential problem areas.Zombitar courtesy of Djinn_In_Tonic.
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2009-12-10, 10:35 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: [3.5 feat] Familiar Shape
Actually it does...
Originally Posted by SRD